Opening Day Steamship Reservations Down Again, But That May Not Signal Less Tourism On Nantucket

The Steamship Authority processed 6,747 transactions on the first day that reservations were available for the Nantucket route for the summer of 2026, a 6.9 percent decline from last year. Since 2023, opening day reservations have fallen by around 26.3 percent.

But past declines in opening-day reservations have not corresponded to overall declines in the Steamship’s ridership. Last year, despite opening-day reservations dropping over 13.6 percent, the Steamship ended up transporting around 0.6 percent more passengers to Nantucket and significantly more vehicles.

This suggests that opening-day reservations likely do not reflect actual demand for the Steamship Authority’s services, or for transportation to Nantucket. Available data suggests that tourism on Nantucket remained mostly flat last summer compared to the year before.

Steamship Authority communications director Sean Driscoll said that the drop in opening day reservations could be the result of a combination of factors, including changing travel patterns as more rentals come with cars, greater demand from trucks, and potentially economic fears.

“It’s all conjecture, but the Covid years set records, so this may be a return to normal,” he said.

Despite the decrease in transactions, the reservations generated $4.1 million in revenue, which is up around 1.6 percent from last year’s opening day. This is likely largely the result of a 7.6 percent increase in fare costs approved last October.

In a press release, new Steamship General Manager Alex Kryska spun the news in a positive light.

“The recent reservation openings show a continued, strong demand for summer travel to both Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard,” General Manager Alex Kryska said. “My thanks to the Authority’s IT group, system developers, and partner vendors for their months of preparation for these events, including load testing and adjusting system configurations. Following these successful opening days, we look forward to a similarly successful season of serving the travel needs of residents and visitors alike.”

Opening-day reservations were roughly flat for the Steamship’s Martha’s Vineyard route.